propaganda victory to al qaeda. the jury experts are also saying washington could have been more guarded -- security experts are also saying washington could have been more guarded. >> it was more specific to yemen than a regional concern. in some ways, we did overreact. >> danielle green served in the u.s. military in iraq and afghanistan wars. militants in yemen pose an especially potent threat. >> al qaeda benefits from yemen. the ethnicity of many of its members are of arabic heritage. osama bin laden -- it is close to saudi arabia, there are funding sources from private

citizens. >> yemen is on high alert. security has been tightened. multiple checkpoints have been set up and tanks are guarding key installations. the yemeni army has surrounded foreign buildings as well as the airport. the strategic interest to the red sea is also being closely monitored. as muslims celebrate the end of the month of ramen on -- ramadan, the yemeni government says they have foiled a plot by al qaeda. >> the interior ministry has implemented many security plans for safety and stability in yemen. to protect our citizens and the foreigners living here. the united states says it will remain cautious and keep 19 of the 22 diplomatic post closed at least until the end of the week. >> the use of drones is one way

the u.s. military has approached unmanned combat. >> they look like something from a science-fiction movie movie, but they are very real. some fear these robots could become the drones of the future. he looks like a soldier, moves like a soldier, and marches like a soldier. underneath that camouflaged uniform, he is very different. he is a robot designed to test uniforms. in the near future, robots like this and other left human looking machines could be used to keep first responders out of harms way. experts say it is inevitable that machines like these will one day be used in battle.

>> it will be a substitute for a human being in a tank or a foot soldier. >> most of these robots are controlled by operators. research is focusing on creating fully autonomous robots who will make their own decisions. this is standing two meters high and weighing 150 kilograms, atlas is being provided to eight universities and research labs for further development. there is no indication that any of these robots have been to the battlefield. this group released a report calling for a moratorium on lethal autonomous robots until a legal framework for their use can be established. >> machines are going to be autonomous. they can make their own decisions, but who will be

accountable? >> something that may make conflict easy to start and hard to finish. but americans -- it makes it palatable to the public. >> what is at risk may be our humanity as the line between weapon and warrior continues to blur. how far off until we may see fully autonomous robots? the department of defense will not say how far along they are. different systems are already in place in israel and on some u.s. naval bases. the uk is testing a stealth drone which can find and shoot its own targets. at the moment, it needs an operator to make the final decision.

>> thank you. for more on the use of robots in the military, we have two people joining us with differing opinions. we have a senior fellow with the truman national security project . from beijing, a professor, an expert on robotics. thank you so much for being here. there are more drones in the world than ever before. we just saw the story about these military type robots, these autonomous robots. it appears we are beyond drones. >> we are moving beyond drones. there is massive perforation -- proliferation. companies are working very fast. it is an arms race developing between different nationstates. i have tracked 77 countries.

it is new bells and whistles to sell more and we are moving to the state of autonomous drones. this is very concerning. it will change the nature of warfare, i believe. it is being specifically designed for use in the pacific. 2000 mile range and because the chinese have weapons that can sink american aircraft carriers for the first time, they need to keep further away. they can automatically refuel in the air. pretty scary. >> it looks pretty scary. it is more palatable to see these drones take place in countries where we do not want to see humans being killed. >> unfortunately, that is part

of the process. drone use right now is legal. it is highly effective. it also saves lives. the united states prepares to chase down terrorists. there is no question the drone armed with a rocket has changed warfare. one of those things like the crossbow, the machine gun, and the airplane. >> let's talk about that. seeing this video of these drones and these robots, it looks like something out of a movie. will we see a day where we see drones and robots fighting one another? >> that is very far in the future. you still have the human element. there could be some kind of proliferation and an arms race.

you have to get other countries involved first and foremost. to get to that level is pretty extreme. >> let's bring you back in from beijing. what is your biggest concern about the use of drones and robots? >> it is the autonomous ones that i do not like. your other speakers said president obama says it is quite legal. of course, that is very questionable because they are attacking countries the united states is not at war with. even in libya, the war powers resolution in the united states is not being used. it might be that this is not a war, this is a human rights issue. innocent people are being murdered.

setting that aside, the use of economists drones will develop very quickly. i do not think -- autonomous drones will develop very quickly. i could make you a killer autonomous robots within two weeks if i wanted to. the united states is concerned not to kill a lot of civilians, of course, but the problem with these weapons is they cannot -- computer systems cannot discriminate their targets. they cannot tell the difference between a combatant and a civilian. by 2020 at the very latest, the systems will be deployed. they do not know how to be proportionate. as you mentioned earlier, a lot of this war is on one side and that site will be the high-tech countries. any countries will have them. as soon as these are developed, they are very hard to think of the ideas, very hard to develop

them, but once they are developed, they're not so difficult to copy. china is developing -- it is a fully economists aircraft. i do not know how far they are getting along with it. >> let me get back. let me get mike to weigh in on this as well. in the end, regardless of an autonomous robot, humans still have to be behind it. programming. >> that is right. there are very few fire and forget weapons. most of them are the surface to air missiles. they are heatseeking and indiscriminate. most weapons platforms have the human element all the way. the drone program, they are

clear with regard to eyes on the targets. going through painstaking process to make sure the target is going to have the least amount of collateral damage. >> we have 10 seconds left. i would like for you to have the last word. >> i wish that what mike was saying was absolutely true. i fear it is not. i think we need a new national treaty to prohibit these dangerous weapons before they get out of hand. >> thank you both for being with us this evening. still to come, the latest on the israeli airport that was forced to close because of the security threat. the partnerships thousands of miles in the making. how china and texas are working together to form better business relations.

>> a suicide bomber killed at least 30 people at a funeral in southwestern pakistan. 200 feet deep -- 250 people were gathered outside a mosque to remember a police officer who was shot and killed on thursday in front of his children. the bombing is also one of a series of targeting -- attacks targeting security forces in pakistan. no one has claimed responsibility. israel has announced lance to add 900 new housing units to a west bank settlement. for more on that, we go live to tel aviv. what prompted this announcement? >> it seems to be the type of announcement that repeats itself. it is a scenario that has repeated itself over and over

again what it comes to the tenuous process of the negotiations. palestinian negotiators have asked for a settlement building freeze. as a precondition to talks. whenever there is an advance in negotiations or the possibility of negotiations, at the same time, plans to build on palestinian land occupied by israel are also made public. >> we heard the great news about the decision of the government that they decided to give us permission to build. for us, it is very happy to hear about that because we were waiting for a long time. >> this announcement is anything but happy for palestinians. this is further proof of israeli

colonialization. at the timing of this announcement, today begins the muslim festival. this marks the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan. that would cast a negative shadow for the palestinians. it is calling into question whether talks that are supposed to get underway this week will indeed get underway. >> some drama. israel's southernmost airport was shut down on thursday due to security concerns. what details have emerged? >> yes, indeed, the airport in the border town with jordan, the airport was shut down, travelers were stranded. the intelligence report say the airport was shut down because

there were reports that perhaps the missile would be fired from the desert area of egypt into israel. calling it a reminder to those who would question why that would endager air travelers. it could easily down a jet full of passengers. that is the reason the airport was shut down. it was later reopened. the sinai desert area has become very volatile especially since the mohamed morsi government has been pulled out of place in egypt. rampant rumors of weapons that trade in that area. that is keeping israel's intelligence community on its toes. >> to peru, the constitution provides a quality on paper for women and when -- and men, the

reality is often very different. the government is facing renewed criticism. some women's rights groups are trying to change that. >> the matter of sexual assault is being expressed through art. this is one way they are trying to bring [inaudible] the government is not confronting the epidemic head- on. between 2008 and 2010, the attorney general's office registered an average 65 reports of rape every day. the highest level on the continent. the majority of the allegations were made by underaged girls. >> there were more than 78,000 allegations of rape between 2008 and 2010, which is extremely

high. there are also an enormous number of cases which are never reported and which overwhelm the justice system if they were. >> to add insult to injury, official figures show rape allegations are often treated with impunity. >> the statistics are still shocking. now in -- nine out of 10 sex crimes on women go unpunished. >> prosecutions are aware because they do not give enough weight to the victim's testimony. >> activist want to confront south american macho attitudes. young women say even dressing up can invite unwelcome attention. >> what we often don't say is

that sometimes we are scared. that is why we cover ourselves up. >> event like this are the vanguard of lowly changing peruvian attitudes towards women. as long as rape goes unpunished, activists say thousands of peruvian women and girls remain at risk. >> the venezuelan government has issued an arrest warrant for oscar lopez, a close aide of opposition leader. he is the chief of staff in the governor's office. military agents searched the peasant apartment in caracas and removed documents, computers. he now faces a large fine and possible charges for filing the petition. some interesting new research in the united states revealing a clearer picture about who is

living here and what they are speaking. 21% of people living in the u.s. speak a language other than english at home. that is more than 60 million people and includes those who speak both english and another language. most of them, 62%, speak spanish. 16% begin asian or pacific islander language. if you are interested in the number of people who speak chinese language, almost 3 million people in the u.s. that is a good chunk of the population. houston is enjoying more traffic out of beijing as air china kicks off lights -- flights. many came out to celebrate the event. the warm welcome the airline is receiving. >> the city of houston is enjoying traffic from beijing as

it welcomes air china to george bush intercontinental airport. >> supporters of both cities arrived on air china's flight last month you up celebrate the flight which runs four days a week. >> so many things beyond economics, so many rich culture to exchange. >> so far, air china says they are having no trouble filling up seats with business travelers from houston. air china's vice president and general manager for north america says he hopes the flight will foster stronger relations between the u.s. and china.

>> we do have a mission to promote stronger ties between the united states and china. if this flight does that, we will be very happy. >> some expect the new flight will bring more chinese tourists to houston. which boasts the largest drivable chinatown in the u.s. >> former u.s. president bill clinton is visiting south africa to help support the fight against hiv-aids. we will hear from the former commander-in-chief after the break.

>> experts from the united nations are expected to visit

panama on next week to examine a cargo ship from the democratic people's republic of korea during an undeclared shipments from cuba. the ship is still being held after being detained in panama off of the cuban officials said they were sending cargo for repairs and they would be returned to cuba. airport officials in kenya say international flights have resumed despite damage from wednesday's fire. officials predicted that overseas flights would return to normal by midnight thursday in nairobi. the cause of the fire is still unknown. >> we are receiving assistance in the investigation from other agencies, international agencies. that is ongoing. >> there were no serious

injuries reported, the damage was extensive. the blaze engulfed the immigration area, airport banks, and foreign exchange bureaus. the response from firefighters has been criticized as slow. former u.s. president bill clinton is in south africa. he has been visiting the hospital where nelson mandela is being treated for a recurring lung condition. he is also paying tribute to south africa's anti-retroviral treatment campaign. >> there are too many people in the world and in this country who have both aids and tuberculosis. their lives, even if they are saved, become miserable unless they are tested and get the medicine. so we have seen a big production

in the price of tests from about $17 to $10. south africa has the largest testing program for tuberculosis in the world. >> clinton and his daughter are visiting the clinton foundation projects in several countries across africa. it also funds attempt to tackle climate change. that wraps it up for world news. >> before we go, they say love is blind, but this blind couple fell in love thanks to their guide dogs. they are the seeing-eye dog, they met one year ago. the owners were on a training course. since then, they have been inseparable. you can say it was possibly fate or good luck for the owners. falling in love thanks to their dogs. thank you for watching. we will see you tomorrow.

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